Omowumi Alabi, University of Missouri-Kansas City , From the On the Cutting Edge activity collection

This lab exercise is designed to provide a basic understanding of a real-world scientific investigation. Learners are introduced to the concept of tropospheric ozone as an air pollutant due to human activities and burning of fossil fuels. Students analyze and visualize data to investigate this air pollution and climate change problem, determine the season in which it commonly occurs, and communicate the results.

Teaching Tips

The common misconception that ozone and/or the ozone hole are primary causes of climate change is NOT addressed clearly in this activity, but some research suggests focusing on misconceptions may introduce or reinforce them. The educator will need to decide on the best strategy.

Groups of students can research cities of different size and industry so that the class can learn from the distribution of results.

About the Science

Activity addresses tropospheric ozone, and describes how it is produced through a chemical reaction of energy-produced pollutants with sunlight. The activity draws the distinction between human-induced tropospheric ozone and natural stratospheric ozone.

The activity focuses on tropospheric ozone as an air pollutant. However, common misconceptions exist in terms of ozone, the ozone hole, and their connection to climate change. Tropospheric ozone is not just an air pollutant but according to the IPCC, it is also the third most important greenhouse gas (after CO2 and methane). This needs to be stressed by the educator, ideally avoiding linking this to the hole in the ozone layer caused by chlorofluorocarbons. See more information here: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/gases.html#troposphericozone.

The supporting materials highlight the health consequences of tropospheric ozone, what to do on an ozone alert day, and the use of the Air Quality Index.

Students synthesize the exercise by developing a scientific report that includes an abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and references.

Comments from expert scientist: I think it is a great idea to have students access online data resources to come up with their own hypotheses and analysis regarding tropospheric ozone. Introducing them to public resources from government web pages will make this lab exercise much more meaningful than if they were working with fabricated data or, I believe, even if they were working with data from a single place that had been collated for them.

About the Pedagogy

Simulation game accommodates different learning styles and could be used on its own with various grade-levels.

Educators should stress the scientific process and help students follow it from designing a hypothesis to writing a final scientific report.

Next Generation Science Standards
See how this
Activity supports:

High School

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 2

HS-ESS3.D1:Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts.

HS-LS2.C2:Moreover, anthropogenic changes (induced by human activity) in the environment—including habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, overexploitation, and climate change—can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species.

HS-P1.5:Evaluate a question to determine if it is testable and relevant

HS-P1.6:Ask questions that can be
investigated within the scope of the school laboratory, research facilities, or field (e.g., outdoor environment) with available resources and, when appropriate, frame a hypothesis based on a model or theory.

HS-P3.2:Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.

HS-P6.4:Apply scientific reasoning, theory, and/or models to link evidence to the claims to assess the extent to which the reasoning and data support the explanation or conclusion.

HS-P8.1:Critically read scientific literature
adapted for classroom use to determine the central ideas or conclusions and/or to obtain scientific and/or technical information to summarize complex evidence, concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.

HS-P8.3:Gather, read, and evaluate scientific and/or technical information from multiple authoritative sources, assessing the evidence and usefulness of each source.